The general election for governor of Colorado will indeed be a contest between Republican Walker Stapleton and Democrat Jared Polis — as months of polling predicted — and both held large leads after the first batch of results were released after 7 p.m. on primary Election Day, June 26.

Stapleton, the current state treasurer, appeared to claim victory minutes after 7:30 p.m.

“Thank You Colorado! Together, we have taken one giant step toward taking back the Governor's Office. Onward to victory in November!” Stapleton said on Twitter.

Victor Mitchell, who shaped up to come in second in the Republican primary, conceded the race and offered support to Stapleton going forward — calling Polis a “flat-out socialist.”

“Obviously, we're disappointed — we fell a little bit short, but I just want to wish Walker Stapleton the best, and we'll be pulling for him, fighting for him in any way we can,” said Mitchell, a businessman and former state legislator from Castle Rock.

Polis, the U.S. congressman from Boulder, took aim at Stapleton and President Donald Trump in his victory speech.

On the question of "whether or not health care is a human right, to whether immigrant children deserve human decency and human rights, to even the basic question of whether or not honest is important in the public sphere, Walker Stapleton comes out on the wrong side," Polis said.

Polis thanked his supporters and said they "answered the call to fight back against the divisive Trump agenda."

In a statement, Stapleton said Polis authored a bill in Congress weeks ago that would roll back the Trump-backed tax cuts.

"And make no mistake, as Governor, Jared Polis will raise every tax and fee he can to take more money from hardworking Coloradans," Stapleton said.

Cary Kennedy, who was in position to come in second to Polis, congratulated him in a statement at about 8:20 p.m.

“Congratulations to Jared Polis,” said Kennedy, a former state treasurer. “Together, we will work toward keeping the governor's office blue, growing the majority in the State House and winning back the State Senate.”

The following are unofficial results, as of 10:30 a.m. June 27, from the June 26 primaries in statewide and congressional races in the metro area. Candidates who received the most votes will appear on the November general election ballot.

Governor

Democrat

Jared Polis: 44.7 percent

Cary Kennedy: 24.7 percent

Mike Johnston: 23.3 percent

Donna Lynne: 7.3 percent

Republican

Walker Stapleton: 47.9 percent

Victor Mitchell: 30.2 percent

Greg Lopez: 13.1 percent

Doug Robinson: 8.9 percent

State treasurer

Democrat

Dave Young: 68.2 percent

Bernard Douthit: 31.8 percent

Republican

Brian Watson: 38 percent

Justin Everett: 37 percent

Polly Lawrence: 25.1 percent

Attorney general

Democrat

Phil Weiser: 50.8 percent

Joe Salazar: 49.2 percent

Republican

George Brauchler: 100 percent (uncontested)

Secretary of state

Democrat

Jena Griswold: 100 percent (uncontested)

Republican

Wayne Williams: 100 percent (uncontested)

Congressional District 1

Democrat

Diana DeGette: 70.9 percent

Saira Rao: 29.1 percent

Republican

Charles Stockham: 100 percent (uncontested)

Congressional District 4

Democrat

Karen McCormick: 64.7 percent

Chase Kohne: 35.3 percent

Republican

Ken Buck: 100 percent (uncontested)

Congressional District 6

Democrat

Jason Crow: 66.1 percent

Levi Tillemann: 34 percent

Republican

Mike Coffman: 100 percent (uncontested)

Congressional District 7

Democrat

Ed Perlmutter: 100 percent (uncontested)

Republican

Mark Barrington: 100 percent (uncontested)

Colorado Board of Education (one member per congressional district):

Congressional District 4, Democrat:

Tim Krug: 100 percent (uncontested)

Congressional District 4, Republican:

Debora Scheffel: 100 percent (uncontested)

University of Colorado Board of Regents (one member per congressional district; two at-large):

A suspect is dead and three deputies are on paid leave after deputies opened fire on the suspect in Arapahoe County after he fled the scene of a reported domestic violence incident Nov. 15, according to the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office.

Colorado's new governor says he's focused on saving familes money on health care coverage and being a leader for all people.
The night of Nov. 6, Jared Polis walked onstage at the Democrats' watch party in downtown Denver as loudspeakers played Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are A-Changin'."

More than 2,300 people gathered the morning of Tuesday, Sept. 11 to “never forget.” The participants of the 2018 Colorado 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb paid tribute to the 343 FDNY firefighters and almost 3,000 Americans who died on 9/11 by climbing the equivalent of the 110 stories of the World Trade Center.

Shelly Leuenberger temporarily left her love of playing beach volleyball behind when she moved with her family from California to Colorado. However, the Parker resident is playing volleyball again in …